The invention relates to a bread maker that keeps a baking chamber thereof warm after the baking operation has ended and, in particular, to a warming method in a bread maker in which the operation of keeping the baking chamber warm is controlled based on either a rate of temperature increasing of the baking chamber at the start of the baking operation or a rate of temperature decreasing of the baking chamber after the end of the baking operation.
Since fresh-baked bread is giving off steam, a drastic drop in the temperature of the chamber wall of the baking chamber leaves dew condensation on the chamber wall. The moisture in the dew condensation is then absorbed by the bread, which in turn impairs the flavor of the bread. To avoid such circumstances, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. Hei. 5-60363 proposes a conventional technique.
This conventional technique is characterized as effecting primary warming for a predetermined time, the primary warming being designed to supply the heater with power that is about 20% of the power supplied for baking. Therefore, the chamber wall temperature does not exhibit a drastic drop, but the chamber wall temperature decreases at a rate analogous to the decreasing rate of the baking chamber temperature. As a result, bedewing on the chamber wall can be prevented, in turn preventing the flavor of the bread from being impaired as well.
However, the decreasing rate of the baking chamber temperature after the baking operation has ended is changed by the type and quantity of bread to be baked as well as by outside temperature. On the other hand, since primary warming is carried out only for a predetermined time by supplying the heater with predetermined power, there still may be the possibility that the chamber wall temperature will be decreased by the type and quantity of bread to be baked and the outside temperature upon end of the primary warming. It is for this reason that the bread case has often bedewed. If a longer primary warming time is selected to overcome this problem, the bread surface becomes so dry that the good flavor of the bread is lost.